1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security and, more particularly, to methods of and systems for accurately identifying devices that have behaved maliciously and for proactively denying such devices access to services and data through computer networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this Information Revolution, it seems that nearly all information ever available in any form is being made available through the Internet. At the same time, access to the Internet and all the information it holds is growing, not just organically as individuals want access to the Internet but also in organized, motivated campaigns to “bridge the digital divide” and to bring Internet access to all who don't have it yet. Thus, the trend is toward everyone having access to all information in the world.
The infrastructure of the Internet is both widely adopted and highly convenient. Accordingly, some use the Internet to provide services that would otherwise be provided by legacy infrastructure, such as physical “brick and mortar” locations where activities such as shopping, banking, telephone conversations, and postal transactions have traditionally taken place. In addition, the Internet is increasingly used to share information between limited groups of geographically separated parties.
One of the greatest challenges in ubiquitous data access is security. Data is often personal and confidential and of high value. Accordingly, security is often of paramount importance for some of the information and services that are accessible through the Internet.
Security failures, in which a computer controlled by a person with malicious intent gains access to resources which the person is not authorized to obtain, are all too common. What is needed is a way to more effectively stop unauthorized intrusions into secure systems.